Women of the Command Center: Part One

Women of the Command Center: Part One

Inside the System

Like a central nervous system to the human body, the David J. Hurley Air Traffic Control System Command Center (ATCSCC or Command Center) is the central controls of the National Airspace System (NAS). The ATCSCC was established in 1970 at Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Headquarters in Washington, DC. It relocated twice and is now in its permanent location in Warrenton, Virginia.

Being the ATCSCC’s overall goal is to balance air traffic demand with system capacity, it identifies inefficiencies and collaboratively finds solutions with facilities and stakeholders. Constraints can be weather, equipment outages, runway closures and emergencies. To mitigate impacts to the system, traffic management initiatives (TMIs) such as airborne metering, miles-in-trail, reroutes, ground delay programs, ground stops and airspace flow programs are used. These TMIs are used to minimize delays and effectively manage the flow of air traffic.

According to the FAA website, the FAA coordinates and works over a quarter of the world’s scheduled flights, 50,000 flights being in the United States.

Over the course of the next few WATCH issues we will learn more about the women of the Command Center.

Terminal

When a Traffic Management Specialist around the NAS calls the Command Center, they are typically speaking to a National Traffic Management Specialist (NTMS) in one of two areas: Terminal or Severe Weather. Terminal NTMSs identify constraints relating to an airport and collaborate with the affected facilities and stakeholders on the best course of action for the scenario.

Facilities will establish metering and scheduling and request miles-in-trail. Terminal NTMSs will evaluate the effectiveness of these initiatives and help facilitate the decision to establish a ground delay program or ground stop depending on the circumstances. They will hold conferences explaining the constraints, the proposed solution, and collaborate on a final decision. Evaluating miles-in-trail, making changes in Expect Departure Clearance Time (EDCT), managing hotlines, and sharing information through Traffic Flow Management System (TFMS) Messaging are a few more of the items we are tasked with. Though it is typically a Severe Weather function, Terminal will initiate Airspace Flow Programs (AFPs) for special events or constraints to an airport.

I have recently taken interest in Formula 1. It was fun for me to know the hype and importance of the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas while also working the initiatives that were in place. There are many events similar to this that easily translate to our interests outside of work.

Alicia Barry Whitman, Terminal NTMS at ATCSCC

Severe Weather

Elle Slovak, who has been a Severe Weather NTMS for four years, explained to me that there are many functions of the area that can happen at any given moment. However, the focus of the area can come down to three functions: mitigating volume over centers, route aircraft around weather without overloading other sectors or centers, and facilitating conversations between centers to accomplish shift goals. Severe Weather has two seasons; Severe Weather Avoidance Procedure/Program (SWAP) and Snowbird. The difference between the two are the ways we mitigate the impacts to the NAS. SWAP mitigates impacts around weather and Snowbird mitigates volume.

North/Southbound volume dependent routes

Prior to the Command Center, Elle was a controller at Potomac TRACON. The most notable change for her was to evolve the way she evaluated the situation. At a TRACON, you may focus on a smaller scope of roughly 30 miles, where at the Command Center you not only have to have knowledge of the entire National Airspace System, but also International partners’ airspace (Canada, Japan and Mexico).

The WATCH - Winter 2022 - Page 30